Assignment Details

Complete Part A, Part B, and TWO of the sections of Part C

Part A: Summarize the elements of a plot by discussing: the introduction (include
establishment of setting), rising action (include establishment of conflict), the climax, the falling
action, and the denouement, or resolution. The summary should be centered around the films
theme or significant meaning. The summary must be no longer than one page.
The movie Newsies explores the theme that change can occur when people band together for a
common cause. The movie begins as the newsboys work together in order to prepare for their
work selling Pulitzers newspapers. After a musical interlude, they buy their papers for the day.
Jack, David, and Les band together to sell papers that day, shouting false headlines and using Les
to gain sympathy. After a police chase, Jack is invited to have dinner with David. Upon meeting
Davids family, Jack reveals his inner desire to travel to Santa Fe. It is also revealed that Davids
father lost his job because there was no union to protect him when he broke his arm.
In order to beat his competitor Hearst, Pulitzer raises the price the news boys have to pay for
their papers to 60 cents. Angered at this, Jack and David rally the newsies to go on strike. They
declare that the newsies are a union just by saying so and ask for Pulitzer to recognize their
rights. Jack, leading his strike, sends his friends out to different parts of the cities to recruit new
newsboys into the strike. Jack and many other strikers believed that the more people a strike
contained, the more powerful it would be. The next step for the strikers is to team up in order to
intimidate strikebreakers. The newsies face public persecution and the terror of the police, but
the newsies from Brooklyn come rescue them, and unite their cause, making the strike more
powerful.
The newsies than organize a large rally where Jack gets arrested and sent to a correctional
facility. When David attempts to break Jack out of Pulitzers, they fight. Jack accepts Pulitzers
offer and becomes a newsboy again. When Jack sees David, Sarah, and Les being attacked on the
streets, he assists in the defeat of the attackers.

As a final act of defiance, the newsies join together to print newspapers promoting their cause.
The next day, most of the working kids in New York showed up outside Pulitzers office for a
massive demonstration, which resulted in a newsies victory and the arrest of the warren. The
newsies banding together to use the power of the press resulted in awareness to child labor.

Part B: Describe the historical setting of the film and the significant aspects of American
society portrayed. This requires some research and the use of at least two citations. Explore the
films historic accuracy, its significance at the time it was produced or the historiography (biases)
presented in the film. Remember to include MLA based in-text citations, from at least two
outside sources, and to include a Works Cited Page.
Newsies is an over dramatization of the newsboys strike of 1899, with strong bonds between
characters and the exaggeration of the cruelty of the newspaper owners. Many shots of the film
show an industrialized New York, with many more skyscrapers than there were in 1899 (New
York Historical Society). Some small details are historically accurate, such as both Jack and a
striker from 1899 being arrested for tearing up newspapers of the strikebreakers (New York
Times archive). Although the movie incorporated a few quotes from the strike, the language that
the strikers used in the movie is more sophisticated and modern than the language the newsies
from 1899 used (New York Daily Tribune). Many of the newsboys were poor and homeless.
They did not jump on wagons or swing on signs as the movie depicted. The movie romanticizes
the joy of a newsboy and the freedom that they felt selling newspapers.
Pulitzer was depicted as greedy and cruel in the movie, but in reality he had very little to do with
the strike. The price of the newspaper was raised because of the war, not because Pulitzer wanted
more money than Hearst, as shown in the movie. Pulitzer and Hearst were not strong
competitors, as Pulitzer was more prominent in the media world by a large margin (PostGazette). Pulitzer was rarely in his office at the time of the strike, and didnt even come into
contact with strikers.
The movie portrays many aspects of New York society that had little relation to the newsboys
strike. The movie depicted a club that resembles a place many upper-class New Yorkers would

have gone to in the evening. Jack claimed his parents went out west to search for new land, a
realistic situation in that time. Yet one scene describes a cowboy stereotype, as Jack dreams of
men on horses whipping their lassos around. One aspect the movie emphasized was that
newspapers refused to print stories about the strike. In actuality, most competing newspapers
were extremely active in the coverage of the strike (post-gazette). The part of the movie where
the newsies banding together to use Pulitzers printing press to create their own newspapers was
entirely fictitious. Although the newsboys had organized leaders in their strike, they did not print
their own newspaper. Printing presses all around the east coast were giving them plenty of
popularity. Finally, the victory the newsies won in the end of the movie was expanded. The
real newsboys struck a deal to have the newspaper companies buy back papers that they did not
sell but the price was kept at 60 cents.
Part C: Complete ONE of the following options (Be sure to include the writing prompt you
respond to in the paper:
1. Discuss how various cinematographic techniques are used to increase the viewers
awareness of the setting, characters or plot development.
2. Mostly strait on perspective-sympathise with newsies cause
3. Shows pans of industrius news cit full of biuldings
4. Very intricate backgrounds
5. Most shots newsies coming sowards camera to inspire viewers
6. Analyze the use of metaphor and imagery in the film, citing several examples.
a. Children sleeping on a gravestone
b. Nuns represent maternal figure (giving food, telling them they will be saved)
c. Dummy in audience next to kid, womens dress is purple, contrasts with
newsies black, grey, tattered clothing
d. Tiny up next to brooklyhn bridge
e. Children beat drums during strike like soldiers

Grading Rubric
Excelle
nt ( 5)

Part A - Plot summary accurately discusses all

elements of a plot and is centered upon
the films theme. Analysis of theme is not
merely a restatement of the plot, but goes
beyond the obvious (what questions is the
director attempting to resolve).
Part B - Historical significance of film is
adequately explained and adequately

Good
(4
-4.5 )

Weak
(3-3.5)

Poor
(1-2)

supported with at least two outside sources.

The historical accuracy, significance or
historiography presented in the film should be
explored.
Part C - Information and analysis are accurate
and supported with details from the film and
outside sources where appropriate.
Grammar and Style- The diction is
sophisticated and the syntax is varied.
Sentences are written in present tense (with
possible exception for the Historical
significance component) and are mostly free
of grammatical and syntactic errors.

Grade Conversions
Total Score______/20
18-20- A

16-17- B

14-15 -C

12-13- D

0-11- E

Turnitin.com The cinematic analysis must be submitted to Turnitin.com

by the due date to avoid penalty. If not submitted at all 50% will be
deducted from the grade.

MLA Format
You must include in-text citations and a works cited page with your analysis. The
Modern Language Association is responsible for developing the rules that govern
how to appropriate cite outside works. Go to http://cap.mbhs.edu/resources.html
or http://imc.mbhs.edu/resources/bib/mla.pdf for a basic overview of MLA
formatting. Parenthetical citations are used in the text of your paper to credit the
origins of the idea or thought used. If the author, page number or website is not
mentioned in the text of the paper it must be parenthetically cited as follows:
Ragtime, the 1981 film about life at the turn of the 20 th century director Milos
Forman creates characters with great clarity in the few narratives he explores
amidst the jumble of tales originally explored in E.L. Doctrows bestselling novel
(Ebert, rogerebert.com).

Plagiarism
In order to avoid all instances of plagiarism all cinematic analyses must be
submitted to Turnitin.com by noon on the Due Date.